A concept by Merritt Eby Gates

Imagine for a moment walking inside of a life-sized (34-meter), carbon-neutral structure created in the shape of a whale.

Inside The Whale there are three maze-like paths with different – though interconnected – themes. Visitors start in the mouth of The Whale and choose one path at a time. Each path has interactive and participatory installations pertaining to the theme, as well as headsets with stations. The visitor is a collaborative member of the evolving installation.

Together with a team of activists, architects, artists, designers, engineers, inventors, technicians, thinkers, scientists, soul-seekers I want to co-create a space that disrupts mental chatter – a sort of incubator for consciousness to emerge. The act of entering The Whale will “transport” the visitor to an alternate reality, a reality made possible by the collaboration of many minds. The characteristics and behavior of Cetacean family members (whales, dolphins and orcas) guide us in our innovation of an immersive, adaptable, collaborative, interactive experience.

For the first edition of The Whale, I’ve selected the themes of 1) Human Impact on the Ocean Environment, 2) Storytelling and the Reintegration of Nature, Community, and the Individual, and 3) Our Journeys; Our Collective Depths of Expression. However, I hope the first edition may act as a blueprint that encourages future editions where the themes within The Whale change over the years responding to the people who are building its new editions, the locations in which The Whale migrates to, and the advances in technology for social and environmental renewal.

Why a whale?

Inspiring awe and dread, obsession and caution, abundance and disaster, the Cetacean family has been utilized allegorically for centuries around the world as a point of reference for reflection of the unknown, of the infinite voyage, entering the abyss and the womb space of imagination, of death and rebirth, rites of passage and second chances.

Discovered relatively recently, some species of cetaceans have spindle neurons in their brains, cells thought to be involved in self and social awareness, complex relationships, communication, empathy and tool usage.[1] They use song to communicate. [2]  Our shared neurological feature may indicate a greater connection than is currently regarded, a connection that was once, to some degree, narrated through culture and tradition. Myths from around the world originate from a time when humans were more intimately connected with nature and tribe. For example, stories of the Polynesian hero, Tinirau, claim the whale as his pet, and in other versions, the whale is the brother of Tinirau’s lover, Hina.[3] Storytelling plays a pivotal role in our social, emotional and cognitive development.[4] The range and depth of Cetacean myths from around the world can remind us of how once the individual, community and the environment were deeply interconnected and as our own “whale songs” erode, so do our social and natural connections. 

In their very essence, whales are heavyweight environmental actors.  Whales play an essential part in the ocean food chain – baleen whales eat tons of krill, they poop and the poop feeds algae, phytoplankton and other microorganisms that consume carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Krill eat the algae, and the cycle continues.[5] When a whale dies, a “whale fall”, the oil-rich body becomes the host of a feast of biodiversity at the bottom of the ocean. [6]

On a personal level, in 2016, I had a dream of a whale illustration in a museum, it took over the whole place.  Inspired by the dream, I began thinking and talking extensively with friends about whales.  I had never even seen a whale in real life, yet it became my power animal, my personal vehicle for moving through the labyrinth of my subconscious, through the abyss of my self-expression.  The enthusiasm I had for The Whale was contagious, leading to deep conversations with strangers and friends alike. The Whale labyrinth took many forms including the traditional.

[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-whales-brains-idUKN2642608820061127
[2] https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10661-whales-boast-the-brain-cells-that-make-us-human/
[3] https://pantheon.org/articles/k/kae.html
[4] https://www.pathstoliteracy.org/playing-words/why-it-important/importance-storytelling-and-story-creation
[5] https://earthobseratory.nasa.gov/features/phytoplankton
[6] Whale-Fall Ecosystems: Recent Insights into Ecology, Paleoecology, and Evolution
Craig R. Smith, Adrian G. Glover, Tina Treude, Nicholas D. Higgs, Diva J. Amon
Annual Review of Marine Science 2015 7:1, 571-596

Inside The Whale

• Algae-curtains separating the paths, a patchwork tent of recycled blue materials from around the world covering the top like a tent, a kinetic installation of the bioluminescent krill in the mouth, and panoramic video installations pertaining to the three themes. Pathways measure about 1.2 meters wide for wheelchair access.

• In the Humans and the Ocean Environment section we come upon “The Wasted Place,” an installation space representing the human trash culture deposited in the oceans, while also having tablet stations for visitors to calculate their carbon footprint, learn of ways of reducing it, and get informed about the many wonderful technological advances and inventions that are aiming to reduce waste pollution in the ocean.

• In the section of the Storytelling and the Reintegration of Nature, Community, and the Individual, as we walk the path through the fins, placards on the algae-walls tell us ancient folklore from around the world of dolphins, orcas and whales before bringing us into “Looking at You, Looking at Me,” a dome-like room of recycled mirrors with tables, chairs, games and suggested prompts for interaction with other visitor-strangers. One of the prompts could be silently staring into a stranger’s eyes for three minutes.
• In the section of Our Journeys; Our Collective Depths of Expression one may climb a spiral staircase to the blowhole of The Whale and slide into “The Belly of the Whale” – a place with nooks and crannies for sitting, meditating, writing a message on paper to put in a large collective bottle, painting on a piece of fabric that is woven into a larger digital tapestry. From the belly, we move through “the abyss” a dark, sensory-deprived, labyrinth-like space, that exits into a maze of pink and red curtains, the yoni, the rebirth, a space for reimagining identity.

The complex nature of the mysterious and magnificent Cetacean family with their highly evolved cooperation, heightened communication and capacity for navigation, lends much to this project and ultimately to our growth as humans.  In order to make a truly sustainable future, the technology we design must come from a place where we have reintegrated ourselves with our communities, with nature and with ourselves. With the Cetacean family as our guide, we can develop interactive, immersive, and collaborative installations that will echo The Whale’s message throughout the world.  The scope is grand, but so are its aims.  The Whale is not small, but neither are the challenges we face.  Ultimately, the experience of walking through a full size whale should be a formidable one, because to see the scale is to feel the weight. The Whale is as much the vehicle for disruption as it is the journey for unification.